This is what we do!

Back Country Horsemen of America, Volunteer Hours                                                                           Press Release August 2008: The Back Country Horsemen of America is pleased to announce that its members performed 244,840 hours of volunteer service for the year 2007 to benefit trail users in the back country. BCHA has member organizations in 25 states. Our national volunteer hours for the past thirteen years are $1,646,519. Think of the dollar value as a gift or donation to the people of the United States who use our back country totaling $37,205,036. Impressive, don’t you think! Read the whole article here.

Members, please click here to download our 'Individual Volunteer Hours' form. Fill out this form and submit to our work team coordinator. This is a Microsoft Word document. If you prefer to print out a PDF form and fill it out by hand click here.

Wolf Creek CA, Golden Canyon, High Trail to Soda Springs                                                          Many hours of hard work were devoted to the Golden Canyon Trail by BCHN members, the PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) and the Carson Ranger District. The Golden Canyon trail has been pretty much unused and not maintained for about 20 years. See also the email acknowledgement from the Carson Ranger District thanking all those involved. The team removed logs and boulders, cleared trail, erected signs and performed other maintenance. Not only did BCHN members work on the trail, they provided the labor and stock to pack in all the tools and equipment necessary for the job. Follow this link to the PCT intersection with Golden Canyon  N38.4592 W119.7271.

Trail work in the Wolf Creek area near Soda Springs.

Mike, above left with 2 hikers, and Sonia, center photo, clear trail with the help of some hikers.            The teams head back for more supplies.

Getting the animals ready at the Wolf Creek trailhead with Phil Sullivan.

Group Shot, BCHA and USFS crews at Soda Springs. After the old corral, which has been down for five plus years, together with wire etc, was cleaned up we took a breather. Sixteen new holes were dug by Fire Crew 5 of Markleeville. Younger workers did get things done much faster than Ol’ timers Phil & Mike. Done also that same day, we planted and set all posts tamped true and plumb. BCHN Carson Valley Chapter will be installing the cross members to the 50ft Round Pen summer of 2010.

The Five in the back are: (l toR)Frank Machler, Shawn Whalen, Genny Wilson (USFS Dist Ranger), Javier Trujillo, Courtney Priess(USFS). Middle Row: Marin Stark, Phil Sullivan & Mike Arkell, from BCHA Carson Valley. Kneeling is Benjamin Rotenberg with Phil’s AKC registered Pain in the Ass Queensland Sqweeler, Tess. 

Above Center Picture above L to R are: Ben, Javier, Phil (BCHN), Frank and Our Chapters' own 'Mr. Warmth', Mike Arkell.

Here are a few shots that kind of show how much work it took to get the materials into Soda Cabin. This work was completed in 2010.

The Fred Young Equestrian Gate.
As a long time member of the Carson Valley Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of Nevada, Fred Young has been an invaluable member to our organization. For more than 20 years, access to the Toiyabe National Forest from the NE corner of Jack’s Valley in Northern Nevada has been open to the public. But, like many backcountry areas these days, in 2008, access to this Forest was closed off to the public by the Toiyabe Ranger District. Confused by this, Fred inquired of a local ranger as to why this had happened. The response he received was that due to deer migration in the area the Forestry Department wanted to prohibit motorized vehicles from entering the area. Unfortunately, this also kept out mountain bikers, equestrians and hikers. There had previously been a gate (which Fred had installed several years earlier), but the Forestry Department had placed a pole in the middle of that gate which not only prevented any motorized vehicles from entering the area but also prevented equestrians and mountain bikes from entering as well. Not deterred, however, Fred met with local rangers and sought to work together to come up with a solution to this problem.

Given the go-ahead by the USFS, Fred designed a gate that would allow equestrian users, mountain bikers and hikers all access, but would still prevent motorized vehicle access. Then, at his own expense, Fred not only built but installed his new gate with the approval of local rangers. The Toiyabe Ranger District liked Fred’s gate design so much that they decided to install more of them. Fred’s new gate design has been so successful that the Toiyabe Ranger District has forwarded it to the U.S. Forestry Service for use in other areas; a benefit to all backcountry users.  CLICK HERE  to see the article published in the Back Country Horsemen of America newsletter.

Fred has showed that working with government agencies, rather than being confrontational, produces results that permits continued use of our national resources. Thank you Fred for a job well done.

CLICK HERE for a detailed drawing of Fred's Gate with all pertinent dimensions. Note from the pictures below that Fred uses various pieces of scrap metal for all of his gates, and in some cases wood posts are used.

If you have installed one of Fred's Gates please let us know who you are. Send us an email with a picture and GPS coordinates, the name of your organization and your website. Send to Info@bchn.us. Thank You!

The gates above are located at  N39.091812 W119.805611  and  N39.092169 W119.799414  Near the Jack's Valley Elementary School. Others are located around the area. Note that current Google Earth Street View maps were taken before the gate on the left was installed.

The 2009 BCHN Hank Curry Clinic held April 4th was a very enjoyable success. Almost 100 participants turned out, some with their horses for a training session with Hank. Hank Curry is the head trainer at the Warm Springs Correctional Center training facility in Carson City and the man behind the current success of the Carson City Prison Wild Horse Program. Since Hank has taken over this training facility the demand for and the value of the horses he trains has steadily risen. The most exceptional thing about Hank . . . he not only trains the horses, he trains the men who train the horses.   Click HERE  to see more about Hank Curry and his program.

Hank helped horses and their owners deal with problems ranging from hard to catch and halter, picking up feet, crossing water (or blue tarps) to dealing with spooky things like blowing feed bags and dragging ropes. Hank also helped owners with trailer loading and unloading and various other issues. Due to rider interest the clinic ran over time but everyone got an opportunity to work with Hank. Many thanks to Hank Curry and all of the paricipants who helped make this a very informative and entertaining event.

Participants and their horses learned how to deal with a variety of issues including obeying commands, dealing with obstacles, trailer loading and the always popular blue tarp. This year Hank added 'Introduction to cattle'. Bottom right: another happy customer and future BCHN trail rider.

BCHN Calendar of Events.                                             We plan a variety of rides, meetings, training classes, trail clearings and maintenance, special events and other 'get togethers' each year. Events are open to Members Only. All events are subject to change, please contact the event manager to confirm dates and times. 

This years events calendar will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.

The 2011 Hank Curry Clinic was May 14

Please bookmark this page, We will announce next year's event in this space.

Thank you to: S&W Feed & Supply, & Bensons Feed & Tack in Carson City, Laxague Feed & Supply, Eastern Sierra Feed & Ruby Rose Cowgirl Clothes in Gardnerville, Kruse's Feed & Hardware in New Washoe City for promoting our event and making tickets available.

This was our third annual BCHN Hank Curry Horsemanship Clinic, it is our biggest fund raising event of the year. All funds are used in accordance with our Mission Statement. Your participation made it the best ever. Thanks for your participation!

Click HERE to see the Record Courier Newspaper article published April 13, 2011. Thank You to the local newspapers and radio stations for their support in getting the word out.

Photos from prior years events: